Ensuring that your home is ready to sell is a crucial step to ensure that you successfully sell your home.  

Prior to listing your home:

1. Clean and then clean some more – your home needs to be in show ready at all times.  A dirty home will cloud a potential buyer’s opinion and likely result in a lost sale.
2. Eliminate smells – strong smells (both good and bad) can be a real turn off to potential buyers.
3. Clear out the clutter – you want buyers to focus on how great the space is, not how messy it is.
4. Stick to neutral colors – unfortunately many buyers can’t see pass bright colors or unique wall designs. Consider repainting the walls with neutral colors.
5. Keep the decor simple – unique decorations, furniture and art can distract a buyer from being able to visualize themselves in the home.
6. Let there be light – open up all of the windows to let in natural light and consider adding floor or table lamps in areas that are darker.  A bright room looks bigger and more inviting.
7. Get rid of bulky furniture – the bigger the furniture, the smaller the room looks.
8. Organize your closets – storage space is a huge selling point and a messy closet can detract from what very well may be incredible storage space.
9. Take care of the little stuff – if there is a list of little things you’ve been meaning to do, do it now.  Fix the leaky faucet or paint over the scuffs from when you first moved in your furniture.  It’s the little things that buyers have a tendency to notice the most.
10. Dress up the curb – the exterior of your home is the first thing that buyers will see and first impressions are everything in real estate.  Trim your shrubs, weed your flower beds, fix any peeling paint, clean the siding and make your home look inviting.

North Carolina is a due diligence state, meaning that the buyer has the right to walk away from a contract during the due diligence period without losing his/her earnest money.  However, the buyer generally pays a non-refundable due diligence fee in exchange for this.  The due diligence period is a mutually agreed upon time period in which the buyer does all of his/her inspections, surveys, appraisals, etc.  As the seller, you are obligated to make your home available for the inspections.  You may also receive a repair request from the buyer after the inspections, which can then be negotiated. After the due diligence period ends, the buyer’s earnest money is non-refundable.

Depending on whether or not the due diligence period has expired, the buyer may get back his/her earnest money.  Either way, once the contract is officially terminated, you are free to put your home back on the market for sale.  It’s not the end of the world if this happens.  A good real estate agent will know how to market the house properly to avoid a terminated contract from detracting from your home’s appeal.

A pre-qualification is based on information your provide to the bank and assumes that the information is accurate and true.  It will tell you what you could potentially be approved for.  A pre-approval looks at the information you provide in addition to extensive financial background checks, credit history and score, previous tax returns and verification of employment and salary.  A pre-approval states what the bank is willing to loan to you.  Either way, a seller is likely to require one of the two prior to considering an offer.

As your agent, we advise and advocate for you in the home buying process and work as your representative to ensure you get the best deal possible.  We pretty much do everything, from helping you search for homes, to walking you through the necessary paperwork, negotiations and inspections, to signing the closing documents.  We are there every step of the way to provide you with the tools and information you’ll need to successful buy your home.  You should hire an agent from the beginning. Real Estate agents have access to the latest market information and have the ability to search homes on a more detailed level than publicly available. Not only will this help you find your dream home quicker and more efficiently, but it will also ensure you are getting the best representation possible throughout the process.

There are many factors that can effect how long it takes to close on a property.  Loan approval is probably the biggest factor of all.  It is important that you give yourself time to do your due diligence and ensure that all of your home inspections and repair negotiations are done.  As your agent, we’ll assess your personal situation and help you determine how much time you will likely need to close on a property.

First impressions are important, but also keep in mind that paint color and bathroom tile can be painted over and re-done.  By the time you see your first home, it’s likely that you will already know how many bathrooms and bedrooms you need.  You’ll probably have a list of things you would like to have.  In addition, it is important to keep in mind:

• Does the location work for me?  Is it far from work?
• What are the schools like in the area?
• Are there any obvious repairs that will need to be made prior to or shortly after closing?
• Does the floor plan work for your needs and wants?
• Does the home have good bones?  Does the structure support what you’d ultimately like to have?
• Will your furniture fit in the space?
• Is the yard big enough?
• Is the home in proximity to grocery stores, nightlife, hospitals, etc?

Once your offer is accepted, the due diligence period begins.  During that time, your agent will assist in setting up home inspections, negotiating repairs and ensuring that you have all of the information you need to proceed to closing.  During the due diligence period, the most important thing you can do as a buyer is work closely with your lender to ensure your loan approval is moving forward as quickly and smoothly as possible.  It is also important to contact your home insurance company to ensure that there are no surprises in securing property insurance.  If you are purchasing the home with a mortgage, it is likely that your lender will require proof of insurance as a condition of loan approval.

Closing costs refer tot he costs of purchasing a home.  Such fees include property tax, homeowners dues, lender fees and down payments.